


Stripped

by catbythefirelight



Series: Recognition [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, F/M, Falling In Love, First Kiss, Intercultural relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:20:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24588217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catbythefirelight/pseuds/catbythefirelight
Summary: After confronting Yon Rha, Katara attempts to reorient herself. In the process, her relationship with Zuko takes a step forward.
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Recognition [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1774327
Comments: 22
Kudos: 169





	Stripped

**Author's Note:**

> This is set in a canon-divergent AU starting near the end of the Southern Raiders episode. Sometime ago, I wrote a letter-series one-shot, ‘Build me up, strip me down’; this fic is basically a prequel to that one-shot. I might write more one-shots in this series in the future. Hope you enjoy!
> 
> Beta-read by @adotme on AO3!

> _“Finally, in a low whisper, he said, ‘I think I might be a terrible person.’ For a split second I believed him - I thought he was about to confess a crime, maybe a murder. Then I realized that we all think we might be terrible people. But we only reveal this before asking someone to love us. It is a kind of undressing.”  
>   
> _ _(The First Bad Man - Miranda July)_

Katara turned her face up to the sky and closed her eyes. Distantly, she heard frantic scrabbling of feet on the ground as Yon Rha fled from her. She felt raindrops fall against her face. They pooled in the corners of her eyes, running in trails down her face. The moment was quiet, and yet her mind was full of noise. 

More feet crunched on the damp grass. Zuko. “Katara, we need to go. Yon Rha might alert the authorities of our presence.” 

Katara opened her eyes and looked at Zuko. He met her gaze squarely, a thoughtful glint in his eyes.

 _Zuko’s seen the worst of me now,_ she realized. _And he’s not afraid to approach me._

Her heart thudded just a little faster. She kept her eyes on Zuko for a moment before she slowly nodded and turned away. She led the way towards where they’d hidden Appa. “Let’s go, then.” 

* * *

They flew for a few hours before Zuko called, “D’you want to settle down for the night? It’s dark. We won’t reach the others for some time anyway.”

“Yeah, that’s fine. Appa must be tired too.” Katara slowly guided Appa down from the sky and to a patch of forest clearing. She was relieved. She didn’t really feel like dealing with Aang and Sokka and Toph’s questions about Yon Rha right now. She needed time to think. 

When Appa landed, she hitched herself off Appa’s neck and slid down his side. She landed on the ground with a grunt, a little dizzy with the impact. She must have exhausted herself by bloodbending today. 

Zuko cleared his throat. “Are you okay?” 

She jerked in surprise. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just hungry.” She climbed back up Appa to reach his saddle. She busied her hands with gathering up their bedrolls and food supplies, avoiding Zuko’s gaze. 

“I think your mother would have been proud of you. For today.” 

Startled, Katara looked up. But Zuko wasn’t looking at her. He slid down from Appa and swept away some leaves to clear a space in the middle for them to set up camp. He seemed to sense that she wanted to be alone with her thoughts for a while. She didn’t really know anyone else who could read her so well. Which was strange, because she and Zuko hardly knew each other. 

Katara touched her mother’s necklace. Was Zuko right? Would Mom have been happy with her today? 

In the morning, she hadn't known what she’d expected to find. She didn’t quite know what she wanted, beyond making Yon Rha pay for what he did. For the damage he’d caused to her family, to her Tribe. Before today, she had imagined confronting the man who killed Mom a thousand times. She’d imagined making him say he was sorry, even though an apology from him would be worthless. She’d imagine clasping his wrists in ice chains and bringing him to her father and Sokka, so they could seek justice for her mother together. She’d imagined striking the man down herself. She’d imagined leaving him to the merciless ocean. 

Instead, today, she left him as he was: miserable and pathetic. She still didn’t really know if it was the right decision. But in the split second she’d drawn up knives to fire at Yon Rha, she’d realized one thing – her mother would have never wanted her to become a killer, even in the name of justice. 

The realization had struck her hard. She was tired, she knew it distantly. Her muscles ached. And yet her mind continued to buzz. She wouldn’t be able to sleep for a while.

When Katara got off Appa and turned around, Zuko had lit a campfire and he was sitting by it. His eyes were closed in meditation. She put down their supplies and settled by him, watching the flames. He opened his eyes but he didn’t turn to her. 

“You saw me bloodbend yesterday, “ she said simply, unwinding the bindings around her arms. She wanted to keep her hands busy. 

There was a pause. Katara watched Zuko from the corner of her eyes. His expression was pensive. 

“I knew you were powerful,” Zuko said quietly. “But what I saw–that was… Bending water inside the body, that must be hard. All those muscles. All those breaths. It’s not just movements. You can reach inside people and stop their hearts.” He turned to look at her thoughtfully. “All those times you were angry with me. If you were another person, you could’ve just bloodbent me.”

Katara balked. “I would never do that. Is that what you really think of me?” 

“No! No, I don’t, not at all. But you could, I mean. If you were a different person, like I said. A crueler sort.” Zuko fiddled with his sleeves. “But you’re not that person. I think it says a lot about you. That you have that immense power, but you’re so careful with using it.” 

“Thanks, I think?” Katara gathered up two of the apples they’d wrapped in cloth. She bit into one apple while she offered the other to Zuko. 

“Is that how you can heal?” Zuko asked her, his tone curious. “By bloodbending?”

Katara glanced at him, mildly impressed. “Bloodbending _could_ be used for healing. I haven’t really tried to bloodbend while healing. Healing isn’t really about bloodbending for most Waterbenders. I think traditional healers would be horrified thinking about bloodbending. How did you think of that?” 

“Well, water makes up blood, doesn’t it?” Zuko took a bite of his apple. 

“Yeah, that's true.” Katara swallowed her mouthful. “Well, not all healers can bloodbend. It’s difficult. Anyway, there are other kinds of fluids in the body too. More than that, healing is about redirecting the flow of chi in your body.”

“Hmm. I’ve seen you heal before, though. You always gather some water on a wound and then the water has this glow while you work. You didn’t need to draw up water while you bloodbent earlier.” 

“The water helps me feel the paths of chi in the body clearly while healing. That won't work with bloodbending. They’re different. Chi is calm, yielding - blood resists you. It has a pulse.” Katara surveyed Zuko carefully. “I don’t think anyone’s bothered so ask me so much about my Waterbending before.” 

Zuko shrugged. “I suppose I'm curious. Uncle said that he learned to redirect lightning by studying Waterbending styles.” 

“Wow. That’s really resourceful of him.” 

Zuko finished eating and set aside the core of his apple. “The way you described blood as something living and pulsating - it sounds like fire.” He produced a little flame in the air, and Katara watched it flicker in his palm. “It’s like a heartbeat.” 

Katara tucked herself closer to Zuko to reach out a hand over the flame, feeling the warmth it emanated. Suddenly, the flame danced away from them both and twirled in the air like a firework before morphing into a miniature version of Appa. Zuko made his Appa dance in the air. 

They heard a low grumble from behind them before a blast of air nearly knocked them flat to the ground. Little fire-Appa snuffed out under the onslaught. They turned to see Appa yawning innocently behind them. 

Katara and Zuko burst into laughter. Katara’s smile hurt her cheeks. She clapped her hand to one of her cheeks, trying to massage it a little. This was the first time she'd smiled or laughed today, she realized. 

When she looked up, she realized Zuko was watching her. 

“Do you–” Zuko swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat. “Do you remember that cave in Ba Sing Se?” 

Katara’s smile faltered. She set her apple core aside. “Of course.” Just yesterday, she’d been the one to remind him of his betrayal in Ba Sing Se. It was funny how a day’s events could change everything. She had been so angry with Zuko. Now, the rage that had coursed through her felt so distant. 

“I know an apology can’t make up for it, or for Aang almost losing his life, but I’m sorry about that day. I wanted to tell you that. I learned a lot from going back home. I know now that I made the wrong choice.” Zuko shifted, folding his hands in his lap. His eyebrows furrowed and the corners of his mouth turned downwards. “I just wish I could apologize to Uncle. I don’t know where he is now.”

Katara was quiet for a while. “I’m sure he’ll understand. And that he forgives you. He just wants the best for you, right?” 

“Right,” Zuko echoed. Her words didn’t seem to reach him. 

Katara chewed on her lip. _He’s really hard on himself._

“In that cave–” she halted, searching for what she wanted to say. “You reached out to me even though I barely knew you.” _That’s something we have in common_ , she remembered him saying while she wept. The memory was coloured with bitterness – she didn't like remembering how Zuko had turned on her afterwards, or how Aang had died that day. All the same, for a long time, she couldn't forget his words in the catacombs. 

That got his attention. He touched the scarred side of his face. “And you reached back.”

 _Yes. I was going to use the spirit water on you._ Back then, she hadn’t even considered that Aang would sustain a mortal injury. Before he was struck with Azula’s lightning, part of her had always been convinced that Aang was invincible, even if he was so young. He had the lifetimes of all the previous Avatars in him, after all. But even the Avatar was vulnerable. What did that say about the rest of them?

She lifted a hand to Zuko’s face and traced her fingers over his scar. She followed the taut skin with her thumb, gently skimming the area under his eye. Zuko’s mouth dropped open a little, his eyes fixed on her with wonder. His steady gaze bruised something in her chest. She watched him wordlessly. She didn’t trust herself to speak. 

She heard nothing besides the crackling of the fire, the pitter-patter of nocturnal creatures camouflaged on the forest floor. 

Her hand twitched as she drew away from Zuko. But Zuko caught her hand in his and leaned his cheek into her palm, closing his eyes. 

“I’ve never let anyone besides you touch my scar. Not even Uncle.” Zuko looked intently at her, his eyes flickering down to her lips for a moment. “What do you think that means?”

Katara swallowed back a lump in her throat. She felt hoarse. Instead of answering, she leaned forward and caught Zuko’s lips in a clumsy kiss. She couldn’t have explained what drove her to do it, only that the impulse of the moment had taken over her body. Her hand fell away from Zuko’s cheek hesitantly. Before she could pull away, she felt Zuko’s hand cup the back of her head, his fingers threading into her hair as his lips moved against hers. 

They separated for breath. Katara looked up into Zuko’s face. Firelight danced in his yellow eyes.

“What was that?” she breathed. 

Zuko flushed. “Something I’ve wanted to do for a long time.” 

Katara reared back. “For a _long_ time? You–what–since when?” Bizarrely, her mind flashed back to when Aang had kissed her out of the blue, just before they’d ambushed the Fire Nation. And failed. What was it with boys and secret feelings?

Zuko glanced down and away from her. Was he embarrassed? “For a while,” he said evasively. He seemed to sense her annoyance, for he quickly added, “I don’t expect anything of it, okay? I was never going to act on it.” He huffed. “You’re the one who kissed me first, anyway. Why?”

Katara folded her arms over her chest and jerked her chin up. She refused to be embarrassed. “I wanted to.” _I want to._

Zuko looked at her carefully. “This could become complicated. I… I don’t just kiss people for fun, you know.” 

_Complicated_ was underestimating it. Zuko and her, together? Her mind was buzzing. For the first time, the future seemed to blur into a haze. She tried to imagine Zuko with her at the South Pole. She tried to picture _herself_ by Zuko’s side, ruling the Fire Nation. Both images seemed ludicrously unattainable, but she felt a tug inside her anyway. She licked her lips. “I know. But I’ve crossed so many boundaries today. What’s one more?”

Zuko’s eyes narrowed. “So I’m just another boundary to cross.”

“That’s not what I meant!” Katara panicked, the words rushing out of her before Zuko could say anything else. She swallowed. “I mean–I don’t kiss anyone for fun, either. But. What’s wrong with having something that we both want?”

Zuko’s eyes softened as she spoke, but he looked sad. “You know this can’t lead anywhere. I don’t want to give you a promise I can’t keep.”

Katara felt helpless. She hated it. “Then why did you kiss me back?!” she cried. 

“I don’t know!” Zuko sounded pained. “I wanted it too, okay? But if we do it again, I’ll just end up hurting you.” He looked down. In that moment, he seemed a little distant, like he was thinking of something else. 

Katara’s lips thinned. “Do you regret it, then?” 

Zuko looked up. “No. I don’t.” He turned away from her. He bent lay his bedroll out on the ground a few tail-lengths away, his face drawn tight with tension. 

Something clenched in Katara’s chest. It wasn’t as if Zuko was wrong. But it didn’t feel right either. 

Katara turned away too, unfurling her bedroll closer to where Appa slept. Her thoughts raced as she prepared herself to sleep. She wondered what Mom would think about her kissing Zuko. Would she disapprove? Probably, Katara figured. Friendly to the Avatar’s cause or not, Zuko would be the Fire Lord one day when Aang took down Ozai. He would never be able to live with her in the South Pole. 

What about her father? She had no idea how he would react, but she imagined his reaction would involve a lecture and a lot of head-shaking. And Sokka? She imagined he would accuse her of being crazy enough to kiss a _jerkbender_ and sputter out a thousand excuses to explain away why it happened. _You just wanted a distraction from thinking of Mom, Katara._

The thing is, she didn’t kiss Zuko to distract herself. 

Zuko settled down under his blanket while Katara was combing out her hair. His back and shoulders were tense, as if he knew she was watching him. Her eyes traced the way his shoulders drew the material of his shirt tight across his back, hating herself for it. 

She set aside her comb. She stood up and walked over to him, crouching next to him. She touched Zuko’s arm and he opened his eyes, looking up at her. She thought he’d be angry, but his eyes were wide and vulnerable under the moonlight. 

Her breath caught in her chest, and she cleared her throat. “Can I sleep next to you?” she asked. Her palms grew damp. She had no idea what she’d do if he refused. 

Zuko hesitated. But when the line of his mouth softened, she knew he’d conceded. “Okay.” 

Katara stood and rushed back to get her bedroll. She dragged it over to Zuko, laying it out beside him. She tucked herself in, pulling her blanket tight around her shoulders. When she looked up, Zuko had turned around in his bedroll to face her. 

They lay side-by-side, their faces level. 

Zuko was staring at her, his expression guarded. Maybe once, she’d have felt intimidated at being looked at so intently. But now, it gave her courage. 

“I just wanted something of my own for a moment,” Katara confessed in a rush. “That’s why I kissed you. It was something I didn’t have to do for the war, or the future of the Tribe, or for Aang’s victory, or anything. It was just mine. And yours. No one else's.”

“I understand that,” Zuko murmured. 

Katara searched his eyes. “Don't you ever feel like escaping from your duties sometimes? I’ve never really seen you take a break.” Back when Zuko had been chasing Aang - he was always so focused. Even these days, he didn’t seem to truly let his guard down except for when he slept and ate. He didn’t crack jokes in the middle of training, like Aang. Or insist on lazing around sometimes, like Toph. 

“Yeah, I guess I don’t, not really. But I do imagine sometimes, what it would be like to have a different life. A normal one, where I don't have to think twice about everything I do.”

Katara nodded, clasping her hands tightly to her chest. There was a silence. 

“Was that your first kiss?” Zuko blurted out. 

Katara arched her eyebrows. “No, it wasn’t.” 

“Oh.” Zuko blinked at her. “Who was he?”

She couldn’t tell what he was thinking. Was he jealous? Disappointed? She knew a lot of boys liked it when they were a girl’s first - anything. She blushed a little. “No one you know. Just a boy from the Earth Kingdom.” 

Zuko hummed. 

“I suppose I wasn’t your first,” Katara probed, trying to sound like she was teasing. She was just a little curious. Maybe just a bit jealous. “I bet a lot of girls wanted to kiss a Prince.”

Zuko looked away. “Ah, no, you weren’t my first kiss. I had a girlfriend for a while.”

Katara narrowed her eyes. “Who was it?”

“Mai. Umm, you’ve met her. She’s friends with Azula. The one with the knives. She was at the Boiling Rock too. She helped Sokka and I escape.”

Katara’s eyebrows shot up. “Right, I know her.” She watched the way Zuko’s jaw clenched. 

Mai was her complete opposite. Smooth, straight hair and a slim figure. Pale skin that would probably burn terribly under the sun. She didn’t seem to talk much, a trait she was sure a royal court would approve of. She was all daintiness until she pulled out her knives and attacked you. 

Now Katara wasn’t sure why she’d asked him about Mai. She regretted it – she felt all twisted up inside. She didn’t want to call it jealousy or anger. It wasn’t as if she had a claim on Zuko, after all. 

Katara’s stomach twisted even more at that thought. It was so selfish of her. She rolled onto her back, looking up at the night sky. It stretched wide and black and empty above her head. They were still close to the industrial parts of the Fire Nation, so they couldn’t really see the stars. She missed seeing them glint in the sky, like tiny jewels hung up to honour the spirit of Tui. 

“What are you thinking?” Zuko asked. 

“Nothing,” Katara answered. She kept her eyes on the sky, but she could feel Zuko’s scrutiny. Her skin prickled with heat. 

“Are you okay?” 

“Not really.” She didn’t have the energy to lie. 

“Is it because I talked about Mai?”

“No,” Katara snapped. “I mean, I don’t know.”

“I won’t talk about her.”

“No, you can!” Katara covered her face with her hands. “I don’t–Look, obviously, you have unresolved feelings for her.”

“What? No, that’s not it.” Katara heard Zuko shift, and his fingers wrapped around her wrists, dragging her hands away from her face. Katara frowned at him. _You don’t want to kiss me again, but you’re okay with touching me?_ But she didn’t resist his hold. It was loose, non-constricting, like he just wanted to make sure she was listening. If she wanted to, she could have tugged her hands away easily. “I don’t feel that way about her anymore. I haven’t for some time, really. But we used to be childhood friends. So I feel guilty. I left her behind in the Fire Nation with a note. She’s angry with me, so I didn’t expect her to help us escape.” 

He was rambling. Katara could only focus on one thing. “You broke up with her with a _note_?” 

Zuko let go of her wrists and groaned. “I know, it was horrible. I just didn’t trust her not to tell anyone I was leaving.” 

“No, you were just too cowardly to say it to her face!” The words flew out of Katara’s mouth before she could stop them. She pressed her lips together tightly against the apology rising in her throat. 

Zuko narrowed his eyes at her. “So you’re angry with me. Because of Mai?” 

“ _No_. I don’t care about her.” Katara flopped down onto her bedroll. It wasn’t really true, but she was tired of thinking about it. Her anger was irrational, really. Suddenly, it was as if the events of the day had caught up to her. Bloodbending. Yon Rha. Kissing Zuko. His confession. The future. She closed her eyes. The low ache in her skull, which she’d been ignoring till now, flared up fiercely. Her temples pulsed with her heartbeat. And yet, the image of Zuko persisted behind her eyelids. 

She reluctantly cracked her eyes open. Zuko was watching the forest, his legs drawn up to his chest and his arms around them. 

Katara cleared her throat a little. Zuko turned and looked down at her. 

“You know. You saw a side of me today that I’ve never shown anyone before.” Katara searched his eyes, unsure of what she’d find. “You see me. In spite of… everything… we have that. Don’t we?” 

It wasn't really an answer to his questions, but he seemed to accept it. “Yes, of course we do.” Zuko unraveled himself and lay back down in his bedroll. His eyes roamed over her face. “There’s no one quite like you.”

Katara smiled broadly as heat suffused through her chest. “Well, of course there isn’t.”

Zuko laughed. She decided that she liked the sound of his laugh, the way it seemed to come from somewhere deep in his throat. She’d never seen his face light up quite like this before. She watched him as his laughter died and his bright expression faded to weariness. 

She wanted to reach out to touch his hand, to ask him a million things. To tell him that she'd been jealous of Mai, just for a second. To ask him why it was so easy for him to submit to the pull of sleep without pushing for answers. To ask him if it was really so wrong for them to kiss again. To ask him what _his_ mother would have thought of them, together. But she resisted. It was late. And she wasn't sure if she'd like how he would respond. 

“Good night, Zuko.” 

“Good night, Katara.” 

She closed her eyes. The night stretched before her, long and dark and full of whispers. 

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked this fic, please let me know your thoughts in the comments! :)


End file.
